The Mrs and I are taking a cruise from Seattle later this year and the flight arrangements just changed. We are going to see a Mariners game, and the Space Needle. Dinner one night at 13 coins, and the pop culture museum. I wanted to know if Pikes Place Market is in a bad part of town. Also, since the flight arrangements changed, we need to find a hotel for one extra night when the cruise gets back. Any recommendations for a hotel that isn’t $400/night or a roach motel?

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I wanted to know if Pikes Place Market is in a bad part of town.

Be sure to visit the Gum Wall

You won't have any problems there on a summer day. I know, the riots caused some problems and busted out the windows on the famous Starbucks there, but 99 days out of 100 it's just a normal day there. I'd be more worried about someone snagging a purse or wallet.

Even the sidewalk / stairs down to the waterfront is fine.

To be honest, the area a few blocks from the space needle just outside Seattle Center is worse, as is the area to the northeast of the Stadium.

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Any recommendations for a hotel that isn’t $400/night or a roach motel?

there are a bunch near SEATAC on hiway 99. Last time we stayed at Crown Plaza on International Blvd, it was fine. plus it is walking distance to the airport via the transit station entrance.

if you have time, the Museum of flight is pretty cool.

Doesn't sound like you are going to be very mobile. If you had more flexibility I'd recommend.

https://navalunderseamuseum.org/

https://cityofpoulsbo.com/

https://ussturnerjoy.org/

This final one is over on Vancouver Island, and get ready for a major sticker shock on this one. But, worth doing once.

https://www.butchartgardens.com/

We stayed in Seattle two weeks ago, prior to a cruise, at the Mayflower Park Hotel, on Olive Way. Nice, classic hotel, it sits on top of the Westlake transit center, where you can catch the monorail to the space needle (and make transit connections to many other attractions in Seattle). You can easily walk to the Public Market. At no time did we feel uncomfortable doing that.

About 5 years ago my wife & I did the same before and after a cruise. We stayed at the Hilton near the airport and went to Pikes Place Market on a tour. A small public park beside the market was so full of marijuana smoke we choked walking past. The market was mostly junk at that time. Was not impressed with the space needle. We did have a great small bus tour around the Vancouver Marine Dr. area which I would recommend.

In January of 2022 we stayed at the Best Western (77 Yesler way) in Pioneer Square. Hotel very nice quiet with secure parking. I don’t know what the area is like at present; when we were there it was a bit sketchy at night.

You would be close to the ball field, pioneer square, and the waterfront. Pike Place market is not too distant and getting onto Aurora Ave is fairly easy to get to (13 Coins).

I’d leave it to the current locals for advice as to the climate of the Pioneer Square area is at present.

Silent

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the majority of your plans are in “Bad parts of town”. I grew up in the area and am still here. While I live 35 miles north, I do work in DT Seattle.

Very sad what this once pristine “Emerald City” has become. We are right there with Portland and San Fran for street dwellers, human excrement, druggies, and crime.

When are you going to be here? June is “Pride” month and this year is going to be a big one as it is the City’s 50th anniversary of celebrating immoral debauchery so I expect they will be setting new records in their attention-seeking displays.


You don’t have your location listed in your profile, so not sure what you are use to. Could be a huge culture shock, or just another quasi-third world experience for you if you are used to BLM/Defund/Democrat decay.


As for your itinerary items…

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Originally posted by 400m:
…We are going to see a Mariners game…

Stadiums are all in the “SODO” (South Downtown) area. It is more “industrial”, conditions can vary depending on time of day, day of week, and weather. I would not walk more than a block in the dark.

On the bright side, I am guessing you won’t have a car so you shouldn’t have to worry about it being stolen or your belongings stolen from it.

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..Space Needle.

Of all the things listed, this is the least risky. Seattle Center is a big tourist spot so the city pays a little more attention to keeping things under control. Are you planning on eating in the resataurant? It is pretty pricy, but if you are dining, you don’t have to pay for the lift to the top. Lots of folks will go to the restaurant for the “free” ride, then order the cheapest menu item. Good way to save a buck

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…Dinner one night at 13 coins…

My guess is the Pioneer Square location? Pioneer Square area is one of the worst parts of town for violence. Lots of party bars, I’d go early and not linger. Considering it is just a few blocks from City Hall and Police HQ, as well as the County Courthouse (where I happen to work) it really is surprising the amount of crime in the area.

Pioneer square light rail station is the nastiest one the line in my experience. The elevator down is frequently used as a restroom/shooting gallery and if you bypass it, you likely will have to walk through human filth to ge to the stairs down to the underground station. This is literally across the street from the County Courthouse.


Speaking of light rail, it is convenient but there have been multiple incidents of random, violent attacks at several of the stations and outside of commuter hours, drug use can be rampant on the trains (and many of the buses as well).

Your head needs to be on a constant swivel. Washington just made it illegal to be lawfully armed at “transit facilities”, so it is essentially open season on us law abiding citizens. Even though I am mostly recovered from my knee replacement a few months back, I’ve decided to continue carrying my cane for nothing more than having it for defensive means if needed.

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…the pop culture museum…

This is at the Seattle Center area as well, should be reasonably safe.

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…I wanted to know if Pikes Place Market is in a bad part of town…

Again, being one of the biggest tourist draws they tend to have a little better police presence there. However you are just a few blocks away from the street dregs, public poopers, addicts, etc.

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Also, since the flight arrangements changed, we need to find a hotel for one extra night when the cruise gets back. Any recommendations for a hotel that isn’t $400/night or a roach motel?

Can’t help you with that, I’d stick to one of the big ones either downtown or in SeaTac by the airport. Beware though, even vehicles in the hotel parking garages have a high rate of break ins. My personal opinion is hotel staff probably involved in many cases. Don’t leave ANYTHING of value in a car if you have a rental and I would opt for the extra insurance if you don’t already have some sort of extra coverage if you are renting a car.


Sorry to be all “doom and gloom”, most likely you will be fine - it is still the minority of folks who have problems and probably a majority of those folks bear some responsibility for what befalls them.

Just be aware of your surroundings at all times, keep your head on a swivel. Most of the folks are nothing more than a nuisance, but they are full on street crazy and you don’t want to draw their attention.

911Boss, I live in the Chicago suburbs. I did work downtown for 8 years. It shouldn’t be too much of a culture shock for me but I don’t want the Mrs. unhappy. We will be there in the fall so I will miss the pride month celebrations. We won’t be renting a car so no worries about break in’s. As for hotels I’ll look into everybody else’s advice. It’s the 25th anniversary in the fall and we decided to take an Alaskan cruise.

911boss is a bit dramatic. Like most who have plans to exit after spending decades there. Which I get. The other posters provided some go info. Enjoy. Seattle and surrounding area's are some of the most beautiful anywhere. It is why all the rich libs moved there

Think about a trip overseas. The Seattle to Bainbridge Island ferry terminal is downtown, waterfront of course but tourist and worker bee commuter water front. The crossing is about 45 minutes, maybe plus, depending. You exit the ferry walk up a little slope with the all of the commuters turn left and you are in Winslow.

I've lived on the island forever and still find the place charming. It's tourist suitable in a very non touristy way. The main gut might be half a mile long, cross the street and go back to the ferry on the other side. Pretty much guarantee the ferry will be late unless you're late in which case you'll have about an hour for another. Nothing to panic over.

Restaurants, coffee shops, book stores (collectible and new), out door gear, art supplies. Slow fun, family suited. Bad news is no Starbucks. Bummer, huh? It's about two miles out of Winslow.

No creeps, no panhandlers, no poop in the street, people say 'excuse me' if they bump you, unless of course they just got off the boat, in which case...whatever, but you'll be here in the fall so the big tourist influxes will have slowed.

Counting wait time for a boat, and one doesn't wait til the last minute, An hour over, ride plus docking and unloading, an hour back, plus wandering around time, 2hrs + shopping and wandering.

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Originally posted by old rugged cross:
911boss is a bit dramatic.

I lived in that area for almost 20 years. I spent a very unfortunate summer doing “key drop” deliveries at Subway restaurants in downtown Seattle when I worked for Harbor Wholesale. The ferry docks and the area around there is far worse than 911Boss describes. Granted, our first deliveries were at 8 pm, but I always carried a tomfoot baton. More than once, pulling it out of my belt stopped something from ever starting.

He is not being dramatic. He’s being realistic.

Daytime downtown Seattle is mostly fine. As long as you keep out of certain sections of 3rd Avenue--centering around the 3rd and Pine and 3rd and Pike intersections--which generates quite a bit of the drug traffic and a fair amount of potential for gun violence. For whatever reason, it draws way too many teens and young adults of a certain ethnic heritage actively looking for the "thug life". Your typical recipe for bad things to happen. To the west of here is where the Pike Place Market is. In general the Market is a pretty safe place during daylight hours and even into the evening after the sun sets. But one must always be on guard because there's always human vermin lurking in the shadows. Last summer we had relatives who chose to stay down by the Market at the Four Seasons because of its relative proximity to one of the cruise ship terminals, and they thoroughly enjoyed their time while staying there. But they never ventured out at night. I think Norwegian Cruises regularly uses this downtown terminal, but the city also has another terminal far north of downtown so you'll have to check with your cruise line on which terminal is the one you'll have to board at. Shuttle services operate regularly so getting to and from either terminal should not present any problem.

As for other parts of downtown to be wary: further south which at some point you're going to have to deal with, in the general vicinity of the Pioneer Square "neighborhood" and just north of the sports stadiums, it does get rather sketchy and affects 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ave., in and around Yesler St and S. Jackson St. Mostly it's due to the homeless tweekers that abound all around this part of town. To the north is Belltown, which has its unfair share of homeless as well. Shit does happen during the day, and it's mostly driven by very open drug activity. Seattle PD is rather useless because of the past shenanigans of the the City Council; keep in mind that Seattle now has less than 1/3 of its police force prior to COVID and all of the wokeness crap that hit the city's department HARD. No question their effectiveness is severely muted as a result. And worse yet the vermin out there are well aware of this. Taking a Uber or taxi is definitely recommended to get to the ballpark for the Mariner game, but it definitely can be problematic flagging a ride out of there on game days.

Shootings don't happen daily in downtown but they do happen with alarming regularity in the mind of this lifetime resident of the area. And as the weather improves, the recent history of the city has shown that such shootings downtown and citywide in general increase in frequency. September is usually a month that still has plenty of sun and good weather. But frankly from personal experience, there's NOTHING more disconcerting than hearing the rapid fire of a switched Glock/clone occurring in the not-that-distant background echoing off the tall buildings nearby while walking back to the car park. I will say that it DOES make one pick up the pace considerably, despite my creaky right knee.

Ahh, the sounds of the city.

As for other things to experience, some good suggestions have already been offered up. A car opens up a lot of opportunities outside of the city, but if staying in-city is what works best for your situation, then staying somewhere close to the Market is not a bad option. Just be mindful of your circumstance and have plenty of situational awareness and you should be fine.

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The ferry docks and the area around there is far worse than 911Boss describes. Granted, our first deliveries were at 8 pm, but I always carried a tomfoot baton. More than once, pulling it out of my belt stopped something from ever starting.

The waterfront isn't what it used to be. Since the viaduct was torn down it's seen a HUGE makeover down there. Yes, the homeless still roam around there but not as frequently as they once did prior to the waterfront renovation. That viaduct structure was a blight on the waterfront that the overhead coverage it afforded to the homeless made it a convergence for the crap of humanity. Once it was knocked down and the area was cleaned up, the homeless had to find quieter, less visible places like the side streets of SODO to pitch their ratty tents and trashed RVs/rolling meth labs.

Oh, my aching city.

I’ve gone to Seattle a fair bit in recent years, work related. Stayed within walking distance of Pikes Market.

Yes, some street riff-raff in the area & alleys, no doubt. There is often a difference between the 11 a.M - afternoon visit compared to after hours. Just plan your excursions accordingly. I do realize events can be random, but you get the gist.

Thanks everyone. Yes I’m well aware of the kind of behavior that attracts attention and know enough to avoid it. Just a few days ago I saw a company selling plastic knuckles and thought since I can’t carry on vacation this might be great. I just happen to live in one of four states that they won’t ship their product to. I wonder if they could ship to my hotel? Before I fly back to communist Il, I’ll just hand them off to a bouncer or the first cop I see.

I used to stay downtown for business for nearly 15 straight years, at least twice yearly.

911Boss' pretty much nailed it, during the day, for the most part, Seattle is fine. Some areas are rougher than others but, when the sun is up, the zombies are down and out. TMobile Park and Lumen Field are largely in industrial areas, the Silver Cloud Hotel sits in-between the two stadiums, I've stayed there numerous times; its a good spot to grab a drink/bit to eat or, just wanna get off the street and wait for a cab. The Filson store is nearby, I always like poking my head in there and seeing what they've got.

In-between the stadiums and Pikes Market is Pioneer Square. This is where a lot of the zombies hang-out, police round-ups happen occasionally but, stay away at night for sure. During the daylight hours, there's a number of really nice restaurants and retail as many of the buildings are historical. Salumi is an Italian sandwich shop owned by chef Mario Batali's parents, one of the best porchetta sandwiches I've ever eaten was there. Around the corner is Taylor Shellfish and Oyster Bar, excellent location to get a seafood meal; they've also got a 2nd location as well if you're looking to get out of the downtown core. In the evening there's a number of bars and live music venues, not horrible but, just keep your head on a swivel.

Pikes Market what more can be said, its a tourist draw, the original Starbucks is across the street. I always like going to Piroshki Piroshki next door and get a bite of hot, deep-fried Russian goodness. Just beyond the area around PIke's is Belltown, like Pioneer Sq there's a number of older, historical buildings, unlike Pioneer more vibrant, with more retail and less zombies. Macrina Bakery & Cafe is a Seattle favorite, they have many locations, great spot to get a coffee, pastry or, sandwich. Dick's Drive-In is the regional burger institution, if you're craving for that classic greasy American classic, Dick's does it pretty good.

Just know that Capitol Hill is the center of the alphabet-people world, back in 2020 the CHOP was at Cal Anderson Park located at CH. You'll find all sorts of counter-culture/anti-US graffiti and business' with way too many protest fliers on their store fronts. There are a number of really good places to eat there but, you've got to tolerate the environment.

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Originally posted by 911Boss:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the majority of your plans are in “Bad parts of town”. I grew up in the area and am still here. While I live 35 miles north, I do work in DT Seattle.

I suspected as much. When we were vacationing in Seattle (because I used to be stationed for some months in Bremerton), we would always go to a rotating restaurant on top of some building. It gave you nice views of the city and another draw was that the waiters sang. Is that still open? I forget the name of the place.

Also, the water tours were also nice in that it included a show by the waiters (mostly young people going to college for arts and wanting to be discovered).

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Originally posted by 400m:
Thanks everyone. Yes I’m well aware of the kind of behavior that attracts attention and know enough to avoid it. Just a few days ago I saw a company selling plastic knuckles and thought since I can’t carry on vacation this might be great. I just happen to live in one of four states that they won’t ship their product to. I wonder if they could ship to my hotel? Before I fly back to communist Il, I’ll just hand them off to a bouncer or the first cop I see.

You can always carry a hardwood hickory cane.

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Originally posted by old rugged cross:
911boss is a bit dramatic. Like most who have plans to exit after spending decades there. Which I get. The other posters provided some go info. Enjoy. Seattle and surrounding area's are some of the most beautiful anywhere. It is why all the rich libs moved there

Hey, don’t have to listen to me. Just google “Seattle Light rail assault” or drop “light rail” for lots more hits…

“Passenger beaten with rock, another stabbed in separate incident”

“Woman grabbed and thrown down stairs, twice. Kicked in face when fought back on third time” (Pioneer Square Station - 7th case on suspect in 5 years) Oh, and the suspect in this (mentally unfit for trial) is BEING PAID $250/day BY THE STATE because they can’t find inpatient treatment for him. He is also facing Murder 1 for beating a man to death with a chunk of rebar. No connection to any of his victims or provocation.

“Hammer attack at Seattle light Rail station…”

“Capitol Hill Chef stabbed and killed in Light rail platform attack…”

“Two men hospitalized following downtown Seattle stabbing…”

“One dead, one injured after stabbing in Seattle’s Kinnear park…”


These are all in the last 18 months or so, however 3 of them have been since February and two within the past month. All with just 5 mins of searching.


One of my job duties is reviewing/pre-approving online reports filed by victims. This morning alone I have reviewed 5 vehicle break in reports from SeaTac airport area hotels and a 5th break in/theft from vehicle while at the SeaTac 13 Coins. These all occurred since Friday at 4:00pm through yesterday and are just the ones self-reported using the online system.